More jail for sex predator

A JAILED former Christian Brother has had his prison term extended for sexually abusing two boys at a Geelong orphanage in the 1960s.

William Houston was sentenced at the County Court on Wednesday after being found guilty of buggery of a child under 14 and three counts of indecently assaulting a male under 16.

The two victims, both wards of the state, were aged only 11 and 12 when Houston abused them while working as a dormitory supervisor at St Augustine’s in Highton.

Judge Gerard Mullaly labelled Houston’s crimes heinous and depraved, as he sentenced the 82-year-old to seven years in jail.

Houston is already behind bars after being sentenced in 2016 for abusing six other boys at the same orphanage.

He was due to become eligible for release in April 2024, but Judge Mullaly on Wednesday extended the non-parole period to January 2027.

Houston’s overall jail term was also lifted and is now due to expire in 2031.

Judge Mullaly said Houston knew the victims were vulnerable and that his crimes involved a significant breach of trust.

“Your breach of that trust, by putting your perverse sexual gratification ahead of the victims’ basic needs to feel safe and cared for, renders this offending particularly grave,” he said.

“You were part of a religious order which was, in part, dedicated to the care of children.

“Your crimes are to be seen as an example of your own utter hypocrisy. That is, your outward appearance of adherence to decent morals while acting in private as a man with no, or only base, morals.”

The court heard evidence from both victims who revealed the ongoing impact of the crimes more than five decades later.

One of the victims, now aged in his 60s, said he tried to end his life during the 1990s.

“I feel robbed of my innocence,” he said.

“My future may well have been different if it was not for that one assault as a child.”

The other victim told the court he had endured a “lifetime of suffering”. “This trauma cost me my childhood,” he said. “This trauma cost me my first marriage and my health.”

Judge Mullaly said while there was a growing awareness of sexual abuse in institutional settings, it was vital the plight of victims was never ignored.

“We need to be more vigilant, especially those in the courts, that we are not becoming immune to the horror that has been done to each victim or the dreadful impact on them and their families,” he said.